If you have been searching specifically for “an arborist near me” to take care of the trees on your property, you need to make sure they are right for the job. The best way to do this is to ask them questions about their experience, qualifications, the tools they use and important legal aspects of their business, like whether they have the necessary insurance and certification. If you don’t ask the right questions, you could get ripped off or put your trees at risk. To help you, we have highlighted some of the key things you need to ask when looking to hire an arborist.
What Experience Do They Have?
One of the first things you need to ask is the kind of experience they have. Just because a company suggests they are the best arborist Melbourne has to offer, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are. You need to find out how long they have been active in the sector and caring for trees. It is also important to ask where they obtained their training from and any certifications and qualifications they have achieved.
Do they have supporting evidence that they are qualified and capable of handling any stump removal, tree pruning, tree bracing and cabling or even emergency tree removal services you may need?
You can then check the information they provide you with. If it can be verified, it is reasonable to assume they are who they say they are and have enough experience to look after your trees properly.
Are They Fully Insured?
As there are risks involved in tree care, there is a chance that trees could get damaged or even your property in the process. Therefore, you must ask an arborist you are interested in hiring if they have adequate insurance coverage. If they don’t have liability insurance, then it will be you, not them, that is liable to pay any damages or compensate any injuries that occur while they are working on your property.
Make sure they have workplace safety insurance in place to protect its employees.
What Equipment Do They Use?
All tree arborist, Melbourne-based or otherwise, are different and therefore have different techniques for completing their work. This means that one company may use vastly different equipment to another. Two of the most common ways arborists work with trees is either by climbing or using aerial lifts.
Both methods have their upsides and downsides. Whereas aerial lifts are safer than climbing up the trees and using a harness, they don’t offer quite as much manoeuvrability or the chance for more precise and intricate tree pruning services.
It should go without saying that you should be wary of hiring any company that just uses ladders to scale up and down trees, as these are not safe. Ladders, if used at all, should only be used when working on small trees.
Do They Have a Good Reputation?
One of the best ways to assess whether a company is right for you is to look at their reputation. Reputation speaks volumes to the experience, qualifications, skills and reliability of a company. Does the arborist have testimonials from customers they have worked for in the past? Are they willing to share contact details so you can speak to them directly?
Even if you can’t find that kind of information on their website, there are various sites you can look at online where people publish unbiased reviews. Don’t go looking just for the nice and positive comments, look at any bad reviews too. You want the full picture of what it might be like working with an arborist.
Is There Any Clean-up Included in Their Prices?
This is where a lot of people make mistakes hiring arborists. They just assume that clean-up is included in the arborist Melbourne cost. When, for some companies, it is not. Obviously, with the addition of a clean-up service, the price will be higher. But, if you are unable to do it yourself, you obviously need the experts to do it for you.
